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Red Star 4 appears in a workplace learning system
The newest version of North Korea’s home-grown Linux operating system has been put to use in a new terminal system for use in study rooms that exist at many companies and institutions. Red Star OS version 4 (붉은별 4.0) is used in the system that was produced by Achim Computer (아침콤퓨터합영회사), according to the North…
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KCTV appears on Chinese satellite
Korean Central Television has appeared on a Chinese telecommunications satellite after technical problems hit its existing satellite. KCTV has been relayed on Chinasat-12 since mid-January, which is about a month after Bangkok-based Thaicom reported a “technical incident” on its Thaicom-5 satellite. Thaicom-5 is one of the most important TV satellites for South East Asia and…
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More YouTube channels deleted, DPRK Today unavailable
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for North Korean propaganda on the Internet. In early-January, YouTube deleted several accounts that carried largely unedited material from Korean Central Television, and this week the website of DPRK Today, which is one of the country’s major Internet propaganda sites, has been offline. It’s unclear if the two…
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Pyongyang Crypto Conference Site Goes Blank
The website of the 2020 Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference went blank on Friday, two days after a news report said United Nations sanctions experts are poised to warn people not to attend the event. The conference is organized by the Korean Friendship Association, a Spain-based group of overseas supporters of North Korea, and attendance…
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Can Science and Technology Be a Silver Bullet for the North Korean Economy?
One of the main themes to come out of Kim Jong Un’s speech to the Workers’ Party plenary in late December is a new emphasis on science and technology. The focus isn’t a surprise. North Korea has been pursuing science and technology as a way to improve its economy for years, but now with no…
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Microsoft grabs domain names used by suspected North Korean hackers
Microsoft has taken control of 50 Internet domain names used by hackers to trick people into divulging their user names and passwords and to plant malware on their machines. The hackers are suspected of being linked to North Korean groups, the company said on Monday. It grabbed domain names such as “office365-us[.]org” and “pw-change[.]com” as…
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North Korea could use power lines for intranet expansion
North Korean state media says that the country has developed its own power line communication system. The technology, which is widespread around the world, enables data transmission over electricity lines and could be used to expand the national intranet to points beyond the telephone network. The system was developed by the Seosung IT Exchange Center…
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US cryptocurrency expert arrested for violating North Korean sanctions
Virgil Griffith, a U.S. cryptocurrency expert, was arrested in Los Angeles on Thursday accused of violating U.S. sanctions against North Korea for this attendance at a cryptocurrency conference in Pyongyang in April this year. Griffith, who is due to appear in federal court later on Friday, is charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency…
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Rakwon Trading launches an Android TV in North Korea
Rakwon Trading Co. is selling a smart TV equipped with the Android operating system, the state-run Sogwang website reported on Wednesday. The TV can be hooked up to the national intranet for web access and connects to the Manbang video on demand service, the report said. The main selling feature of the TV is dual…
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Science and Technology Education in North Korea Enters the 21st Century
North Korea is moving ahead with a comprehensive reform of its education system that puts science and technology at its center. Plans were approved at a cabinet meeting over the weekend and follow a call by Kim Jong Un in September to improve the level of the nation’s education. At the weekend meeting, education officials…
